Short Summary

In Lebanon on Sunday (28 October) leftist parties held a rally in Beirut protesting against the country's intelligence service.

Description

In Lebanon on Sunday (28 October) leftist parties held a rally in Beirut protesting against the country's intelligence service. The demonstration also condemned a bomb blast the previous day (27 October) in which six people died and twenty were wounded.

SYNOPSIS: The rally, in a western suburb of Beirut, the Lebanese capital, was organised by a number of left-wing parties...who attacked the country's intelligence service, known as the Deuxieme Bureau. One of the speakers was Dr. Samir Sabbagh, of the Al-Murabitoun party. The leftist parties claim the Deuxieme Bureau enjoys the support of the Lebanese Front, a grouping of mainly Christian right-wing parties and of Lebanon's President, Elias Sarkis.

The demonstration also condemned the killing on Saturday (27 October) of six people when a remote-controlled car bomb exploded in a crowded west Beirut street .,. an area of the capital that is largely Moslem. It was apparently an attempt on the life of the commander of the leftist Lebanese Arab Army Lieutenant Ahmed Al-Khatib. He escaped unhurt. His car passed the bomb seconds before it exploded. Later Lieutenant Khatib alleged that the Lebanese Army Intelligence was behind the blast and the attempt was linked to his stand against the entry of Lebanese regular forces into the south of the country. The Lebanese Arab Army fights alongside Palestinian guerrillas and has so far opposed stationing regular soldiers with United Nations troop deployed in leftist-controlled zones.